St James’s Palace said last night: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha. They were looked after so wonderfully well by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.”

Jacintha was on ­reception when she took the call from 2Day FM ­pranksters Mel Greig and Michael Christian and put them through to another nurse who gave out sensitive information about sick Kate.

The hospital said: “We can confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Jacintha Saldanha.

“Jacintha was an excellent nurse and a well-respected and popular member of staff with all her colleagues.

“We can confirm she was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been supporting her at this difficult time.”

Chief executive John Lofthouse added: “Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much-loved and valued colleague.” Chairman Lord Glenarthur said: “This is a tragic event. Jacintha was a first-class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients during her time with us. She will be greatly missed.”

Chief Executive John Lofthouse said Jacintha was a 'much-loved' colleague

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dr Peter Carter added: “It is deeply saddening that a simple human error due to a cruel hoax could lead to the death of a dedicated member of the nursing profession.

“This is tragic news and the thoughts of all at the Royal College of Nursing go to the family of Jacintha Saldanha.”

The two DJs behind the Sydney hoax that was heard by millions were last night off air.

Tributes yesterday flooded in for the tragic nurse, who had worked at the hospital for more than four years, and lived with partner Benedict Barboza.

In a ­statement, her family said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha.”

Fighting back tears, a former ­neighbour said: “What a terrible tragedy, just before Christmas as well. Oh those two young ­children, they’ll be heartbroken. Her and Ben were a lovely couple. I can’t believe what happened. It’s so sad, so tragic. They always spoke to us – she was such a nice lady.

“It’s devastating to hear she’s gone and in such circumstances that could be so easily avoided.”

Neighbour Marianne Homes, 49, added: “I’ve always known her as the doctor. She was always very smartly dressed. I think her kids are secondary school age. She definitely has one boy and one girl.

“Their son was always really into football, we always saw him with a ball kicking it about with his friends. She was a lovely woman. Every time I saw her she would talk to me.

“I hadn’t seen her for a while – I wondered what had happened to her. It’s so sad to know this has happened.”

Another, called Maxine, added: “She was a lovely woman, just so smiley and bubbly.

“We used to joke with her that she was a nurse for the Queen. She was just so nice. She’ll be much missed – her family will be absolutely devastated. It’s so tragic.” Jacintha used to work at a hospital in Bristol. Her former driving instructor in the West Country Jeff Sellick described her as a “quiet and shy” person.